


Playing the Great Game

by yuki_onna_sicarius



Category: Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VI, Final Fantasy VIII, Final Fantasy XII, Final Fantasy XIII, Game of Thrones (TV), Kingdom Hearts, Loom, Mobius Final Fantasy, RWBY, Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/F, F/M, Female Pronouns for Pidge | Katie Holt, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, ok it's kinda funny, there's so much OOC it's not even funny
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-03
Updated: 2018-05-13
Packaged: 2019-03-26 12:59:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,933
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13858260
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yuki_onna_sicarius/pseuds/yuki_onna_sicarius
Summary: When Keith suddenly goes missing, a lot of pieces of a large puzzle are discovered. There's a lot more going on in the universe than was originally expected.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I honestly had no idea what to call this fic and I'm not super pleased with the title, but it works. I'm not very good at naming things (ask me about my drama novel, I dare you). Even so, I hope everyone enjoys this fic! Depending on how violent I go with this fic, I may up the rating, I'm not sure.
> 
> Edit: So I decided to add Game of Thrones because I thought it would be easier to use a fully fleshed out world than my own, currently incomplete on. Beware though that the world is greatly altered as well as the plot from the books and show, so if you came for that, then you'd best turn back.

Panic. That was the only word to describe the paladins of Voltron at the moment. Shiro tried his best to keep an even face, a calm demeanor, but Allura couldn't contain her anger. "How could you  _lose_ Keith!?" she demanded, her fists balling at her sides. "And how could you wait  _three months_ to tell us!?"

"We had simply thought he was taking his time on his mission," Kolivan replied evenly. "It wasn't until I sent my troops out to look for him that we realized he was gone."

"And you have no idea where he went?" Shiro asked.

"We assume he has been taken," another Blade replied, stepping up to the screen. "When someone goes missing, it's easiest to assume that they've been taken by Zarkon's men."

"Taken by Zarkon's men!?" the younger three paladins cried out.

"But that means he's a prisoner!" Pidge cried, the color leaving her face. "Who knows what they're doing to him!"

One of the multiple screens flickered to life, shocking the Paladins, whose attention went to it. Multiple voices sounded, but there were so many it was hard to make out what any of them were saying. "Shut your mouths, we've got 'em!" a woman's voice yelled over the cacophony.

"Who are you?" Allura asked, her voice still on edge, but there was a suspicious undertone to it.

"And how did you hack our comunication line?" Coran added.

"My name is Hope Estheim," the man on the now clear screen replied. "And to answer your second question, it wasn't very hard to hack your comm. I've been doing this kind of thing for years and your security isn't as high as you might think."

"What do you want?" Allura asked.

"I wanted to let you know that we have a friend of yours with us. His name is Keith, from what we've gathered." Shiro let out a sigh of relief. Keith wasn't in Zarkon's hands, so that was good, but he didn't know who this Hope person was, so he wasn't too confident that he was safe. "He was pretty shaken up when we found him, but he's been recovering well. We just got him to tell us who he is and who his friends are. You wouldn't take my calls, though, so I had to hack your system so you would."

"So you'll let him come back?" Hunk asked. "Like you said, he's our friend."

Hope nodded. "We would like to keep him here a few more days to ensure that he's fully recovered, but you are more than welcome to come and visit him," he answered. "It sounds like he misses all of you."

The paladins all exchanged a look and agreed. "We will come to your planet," Allura answered.

"Good. There is an area you can land your castle-ship, and empty stretch of land not too far from our main city."

"How...how do you know about the castle?"

Hope chuckled. "A little birdie told me."

The message cut out before Allura could ask any more questions, replaced by a map with a red circle on it. Everyone turned back to face Kolivan, but he had also ended his message with them. "I guess we're going to another planet," Lance said with a shrug of his shoulders.

 

* * *

 

Heavy fabric dragged across the ground as Queen Sicarius wandered the grounds of her kingdom. The air nipped bitterly at the flesh of her subjects, but she was never bothered by it. Her blood ran warm and magic tingled beneath her skin, leaving her always warm. She approached her counselors, inspecting the shields the armorer had worked on.

"Add leather to the back," she instructed. He nodded and went back to his work.

"Your grace," her counselors greeted. She dipped her head in acnowledgement and waved for them to follow her.

"What have you learned?" she asked them, as they walked through the city. The two men following her knew where she was going, making the trip almost daily now.

"I have heard interesting rumors that your brother has returned," Lord Bolton answered. Sicarius froze in her place for a moment, a flutter of hope in her chest, but she pushed the idea away and continued to walk. There was no possible way her brother was alive.

"Was anyone with him?" she asked.

"No," Lord Bolton replied, "it was just him."

"Then I highly doubt it was my brother. He wouldn't have returned without my son."

The two men shared a look with each other, concerned. "It may be possible that the prince did not survive, but your brother did," Lord Stark explained. "He was, after all, just a baby when he left. If he was caught by the Galra, perhaps he did not last long."

"They're both dead," she hissed, walking with an anger in her step that worried her counselors. They both knew what she was capable of with a sword and a knife and neither wished to be on the recieving end of her wrath. "Let us put them to rest along with Maevyn."

She approached the entrace to the Ignis family crypt. She placed her hand softly on the wrought-iron door, her hand frozen in place for a moment. Her eyes drifted as she fell into a deep thought, her heart heavy. When she finally pushed the door open, she walked down the steps into the depths of the crypt with heavy footsteps, the fabric of her gown seeming heavier than before. There was something her counselors couldn't place about the way she seemed to wilt, something about the way she seemed to no longer glow, that worried them.

She lit a wick that she used to light a candle in a lantern so she could light the way. She walked forward in a rush, knowing exactly where she was going. Lords Stark and Bolton walked leisurely behind her, the path their queen was taking memorized from years of walking it. When they caught up to her, she was standing before the statue of her late brother, Maevyn, lantern raised to light its face.

"It doesn't look like him," she said, as she did every day. "He was much more beautiful than that."

"Stone is hard to carve," Lord Stark pointed out, as he did every day. "You cannot expect the stone mason to be able to get every detail right."

She lowered her lantern and pulled out another wick from the belt of her dress, lighting the tip with the flame from within the lantern. One hand rose to cup the hand of another statue, lighting the candle within it, lighting up the face above it. She stepped back and looked up at it, letting out a soft sigh, her face falling.

"I always told you not to fall in love with that man," Lord Bolton said, folding his hands in front of his body. "He was not of this world, chased by his own kind."

Sicarius ignored his words, instead choosing to let her mind wander to her long held memories. "Leave me," she demanded. The two men hesitated, but nodded and took their leave, letting the queen have her dreams. Once alone, she placed on hand to her heart, the other to her belly. "I couldn't save him," she said softly. "I tried, Drozon, but I couldn't save him."

 

* * *

 

Vera stood behind Prince Lafor, ever the protective guardian. The man may have a half foot on her, but her prescence was the far more intimidating one, the glare of her yellow eyes enough to make any Galra soldier skamper away, tail between their legs. It had been a long time since she'd seen her home and her childhood friends, having run with the prince as a precaution shortly after his brother, Lotor, had been banished. Her long dark hair swayed behind her as she walked.

"Vera!" a long forgotten voice called out to her. She turned just as another person jumped into her, nearly knocking her over, but she was too sturdy on her feet, catching herself before she did.

"Slaavi?" she asked, wrapping her arms around her sister.

"It's been so long!" her little sister exclaimed. "Come, you have to tell me everything!"

"I can't yet," Vera replied, turning to the prince, who was looking at her with expectant eyes. Slaavi nodded and let go of her sister, bowing slightly to the man. She couldn't help but think about how much he looked like his older brother.

Lafor turned back around and began his march to the throne room once again. Vera took her place behind him, standing tall. Her sister followed at her side, wrapping her arms around her sister's. She always was a touchy one.

Vera wondered how possible it was for Zarkon to have forgotten completely about his younger son. The two of them weren't on the best of terms before Lafor left, not speaking to each other very often, and when he left, Vera didn't think Zarkon took much notice. "How are the hounds?" she asked her sister.

"Father hasn't fed them in two days," Slaavi replied, her voice giddy. "They're due for a hunt soon."

Vera winced slightly. She never liked the hounds her father "trained" for Zarkon, the beasts vicious, eating only living flesh. Worse still was how her father went about "training" them, starving them for days and then letting them loose on some poor, innocent prisoner for feasting. She never said anything for fear of raising suspicion.

"You're learning to take care of them, aren't you?" she asked instead.

"Yes," Slaavi replied. "I get to take them out on their next hunt on my own for the first time. I can't wait!"

"Have you heard about Prince Lotor?" Vera asked. "He's been named a traitor, or some sort, and sentenced to die. Emporor Zarkon has not been so kind to him the second tme around."

Slaavi faltered slightly, her face falling. "He's not the same man from our childhood," she said.

"You two had high hopes for each other," Vera commented. "You don't just forget those kinds of feelings."

Slaavi shook her head. "Did you forget yours." Vera stopped and turned to glare down at her little sister. "Your fiance loved Prince Lotor like a brother."

"And he died trying to save him," Vera snapped. "In vain, he died. I will never forget the image of his skull being crushed in." She looked up to see Prince Lafor had stopped and was waiting for her.

"Perhaps," he said. "No, he did die in vain. I'm sorry you have to suffer even now." Vera nodded her head at him. While Prince Lotor may have changed from their childhoods, Prince Lafor continued to remain fairly unchanged. The kindness in his heart knew no bounds, always bringing comfort to those in need.

"We musn't keep the emporor waiting," Vera said. "Slaavi, I will come find you and Thace after we've had our audience with Emporor Zarkon."

"You haven't heard?" Slaavi asked, "Thace was a traitor and died trying to bring down the empire."

Vera was at a loss. Both of her beloved brothers were dead now, and she wasn't able to be present for either one of them? She was about to ask questions, cry out in agony, when she felt a hand on her arm and turned to see Prince Lafor was by her side, offering silent condolences. "Come now, your father is waiting," she said and pulled him after her, toward the throne room.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The paladins are reunited with Keith

Keith sat in a rocking chair, the little Galra baby cradled in his arms, resting quietly. The baby had just had his last meal of the day and was down for the night, but Keith couldn't bring himself to put the baby down in his crib. He hadn't been able to hold him for days while he was recovering and now he was making up for it.

A soft knock on the door grabbed his attention, looking up as it opened. Terra Branford, the mysterious mage who'd been taking care of him since she found him stranded, poked her head in, looking tired, but there was a smile on her face.

"Your friends are here," she softly told him. "I think they may want to see little Millard."

"I just got him down for the night," Keith replied, standing and putting him in his crib. "If they want to see him, they can wait until tomorrow." Terra nodded in understanding, knowing too well how finicky babies can be. He rubbed his sore throat as he walked over to Terra.

"Still sore?" she asked, already craddling his neck in her hands. He felt the soothing warmth of magic touch his skin, and his voice sounded better when he spoke to her again. She nodded and led him out to the living area, Keith closing the door softly behind them.

Hope had been kind enough to let them use one of the living quarters in Academia. They were old abandoned rooms, no longer in use, that had been converted so Hope and his family could have a place to stay after long nights. Eventually, they had moved in altogether. There were several guest quarters, and Hope had allowed Keith and Terra use of the largest one.

He couldn't help but smile when he saw his friends. Shiro was standing tall, as he always did, and was the first to notice him. He unfolded his crossed arms and approached him, pulling him into a tight hug.

 _It's not like Terra's hugs, but it is still nice_ Keith thought to himself. They stayed like that longer than was perhaps necessary, but they hadn't seen each other in months and the warmth and comfort was much appreciated. When they finally pulled away from each other, Hunk pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, though he loosened his grip when Keith hissed in pain. "Sorry," he apologized.

Pidge came in for a quick hug, too scared to hurt him again. Coran and Allura came in for a group hug, and, to everyone's surprise, Lance swooped in for the last one.

"So, we heard mention of a baby," Hunk said, a large giddy smile on his face. "Do we get to see it?"

"Not tonight," Keith replied with a chuckle. "I just got him down for the night when you all got here."

"Ooh, it's a boy!" Hunk cheered. "So we get to meet the little guy tomorrow then?" Keith shrugged and nodded, taking a seat next to Terra on the couch.

"If you want," he said.

"Don't exert yourself too much," Terra instructed, putting a hand on his shoulder, "you're still recovering." She placed tender fingers to his head, where the worst of his injury was, and he snapped back from the pain. Her hand glowed a soft green color and touched it again, this time her touch felt soft and comforting, and the pain in his head subsided.

"What did you just do?" Lance asked, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "What was that!?"

"Shh, don't wake the baby," Terra snapped, making a lowering motion with her hand. "I simply used a cure spell to help the healing process along."

Lance narrowed suspicious eyes at her, but didn't say anything. Keith didn't care, as long as he didn't hit on her; she deserved better than that. She pushed her fingers through her green hair and stood from the couch. "Here, I'll show you." She took his hand in hers, one that had a small cut on it. Her hand glowed green again and she held it above his hand, the cut healing. His eyes widened in shock and would have screamed out loud had Terra not thrown a hand over his mouth. "No waking the baby!" He nodded in understanding.

"I hear you are not from here," Allura commented, "yet you have been here for quite some time." Terra nodded at her, but didn't say anything. "Do you not miss your home?"

"Of course I miss home," Terra replied, "but there's nothing left for me there but memories. And they're not happy ones. So I came here after the Great War to do what I can to help my friends. It's been fascinating to see their advancements in technology."

"If you think this is impressive, you should see the Altean technology on the ship," Pidge swooned, but stopped when she heard Terra laugh. The older woman covered her mouth to stifle the noise, but it was too late; the damage was done.

"What, you do not think Altean technology is impressive?" Allura asked, obviously offended, though she tried to contain it.

"Perhaps ten thousand years ago," Terra replied, lowering her hand from hre mouth. "But in ten thousand years, so much has changed. Perhaps you ought to look around Academia to see, this really is the home of new ideas, of innovation. Voltron is but a toy compared to the weapons created here."

Everyone stared at her in a stunned silence, broken only by the soft cries of the baby in the other room. Keith stood to check on him, his movements labored and sluggish. "Keith, are you alright?" Terra asked.

"Just tired," he replied. "After I get him back down for the night, I'll be going to bed myself."

"Good night then," Terra said. "I will take my leave as well, I believe Hope wished to talk to me about some changes he wanted to make to the Leviathan." She stood and bowed her head before she left the room, her red nightrobe swishing about her feet with each step. The back was a emblazoned with a vicious dragon breathing out fire, bright orange the faded to red, blending in to the rest of the robe.

All eyes turned to Allura. "Who does she think she is to insinuate that Voltron is a toy!?" she hissed.

"Perhaps looking around Academia isn't a bad idea, Princess," Shiro suggested. "If what she says is true, then perhaps we can find ways to make Voltron better, sturdier."

"I think you should," Keith commented as he stepped out of his room, holding a still crying baby in his arms. It was shocking, the similarities between Keith and the baby. They couldn't help but wonder how long Keith had been seeing someone. "I'm not much of a tech person, but even I was impressed by the things made here."

"Who's the mother?" Lance couldn't help but ask, his eyes glued to the baby's crying face. Keith opened his mouth, but no words coming out, instead looking down at the baby, who looked up at him and cried louder.

Keith pressed a hand to Millard's forehead and sighed. "What's wrong?" Shiro asked.

"Seems he's got a fever," Keith answered. "That explains why he's being so stubborn in going to sleep. I'm going to take him to see Serah, she might have some idea for a remedy." He left the room, down the hall to another one, knocking on the door. He hated to wake his friend like this in the night, but he needed to kill the fever before it got worse.

He heard a pair of footsteps approach him, but not from inside the other home, but from his own. He turned to find Lance approaching him, a smirk on his lips. "So, who's the lucky lady that you've been seeing behind our backs?" he asked. At first, Keth didn't look at him, but when he did, Lance could see tears in his eyes, even in the dark.

"My friend, Valika," Keith replied. "She and her husband died when he was young. I took him after they did."

Lance's smirk fell and he reached out to Keith. "Keith, I'm sorry," he said softly.

"I was there when he was born," Keith explained, resting Millard's head against his shoulder. "Nirvok couldn't be there, he was on a mission, so I was there with Valika. When she saw Millard and named him, it was the happiest I'd ever seen her. I handed her to him for the first time, after her labor she was too weak to hold him on her own, so I held him for her."

"So he's an orphan?"

Keith turned back to stare at the door in front of him, footsteps heard on the other side. "Yeah," he said before it was opened. When it was, a woman with pale pink hair looked at him.

"Keith?" she asked, rubbing her eyes. "Is something wrong? It's late."

"I'm sorry," Keith apologized, "I wouldn't wake you if it wasn't urgent, but Millard's gotten worse. He's got a fever." The woman pressed her hand to Millard's forehead before waving him inside. Lance followed behind.

"Hello," she greeted him. "You must be one of Keith's friends. I'm Serah Villiers."

"The name's Lance."

"Lance, you are not hitting on a married woman." Keith gave him a pointed look and rolled his eyes.

"I am not hitting on her!" Lance insisted.

"Oh, please, that's your ultimate pickup line. 'The name's Lance, don't you forget it. Now, pretty lady, wanna go out sometime?' Don't act like I'm lying."

"For your information, Keith, I haven't flirted with anyone in months," Lace replied, smirk slowly returning to his lips.

"Oh, good, everyone stopped listening to your advances," Keith replied, a small smirk on his own lips.

"Please, both of you, voices down," Serah begged, walking into a small room near the kitchen, "Claire's asleep right now and I don't need her waking up, it's her first day of daycare tomorrow and my first day back at work." She walked back out with some contraption that looked like a robot trashcan. "Come on, let's get Millard medicated up." Keith handed him over to her and she held him up to the contraption. Lance didn't see what happened, but Millard seemed to react to it, but didn't cry out. In fact, he stopped.

"Thanks for helping," Keith said. "I can make you breakfast tomorrow."

"I'm holding you to that," Serah replied, tiredly laughing.

Keith took Millard back to their current home, Lance beside him. The baby fell back asleep, curled up in Keith's arms.

"He's really cute," Lance commented. Keith smiled and ran his hand across Millard's back.

"Yeah, he is," Keith replied. "He..." His voice trailed off as he tried to think of the right words to describe his little baby son. "He's everything to me. I don't know what I'd do if I lost him, too."

Lance thought back to his earlier conversation, when Keith had said his friends had died and left Millard to him. He must have been close to the, really close. "Well, it's a good thing he isn't going anywhere," Lance replied, opening the door for Keith, whose arms were full.

"Hopefully he'll make it through the night now," Keith commented as he went to take Millard to their room, placing him in the crib gingerly. When he walked back out into the living room, Lance was waiting for him on the couch. "It would seem everyone put themselves into rooms for the night," Keith commented, sitting down next to Lance. "Do you want to sleep? There's plenty of rooms."

"I think I'll be fine out here," Lance replied.

"You say that until Millard gets hungry at three in the morning," Keith replied with a chuckle.

"You think I'm new to the whole baby thing," Lance stated, putting his arm on the couch back, leaning his head on his fist. Keith chuckled and looked at him.

"Right, I forgot, you're from a big family. Did you help with siblings? Neices and nephews?"

"Mostly neices and nephews," Lance explained, "but I did have a couple younger siblings. Let me tell you, kids are not easy."

Keith nodded. "Yeah, I know," he said. "Millard's already a handfull, but I wouldn't give him up for anything." Keith leaned his head back, his eyes fluttering shut, taking in the calm silence. He groaned and rubbed his head at the base.

"Is everything alright?" Lance asked, worry in his voice.

"Yeah," Keith replied. "It just hurts a bit. It's the one injury that's taking its time healing." He saw Lance lean over and reach out his hand, more worry finidng its way onto his face. Keith, sensing what he wanted, led his hand to the bump at the base of his skull.

"That's pretty bad," Lance commented. 

"Yeah, it is," Keith replied, "but it's better than it was a couple months ago. The first month Terra wouldn't even let me hold Millard, said I had the worst concussion she'd ever seen before. She's been healing it ever since, but head injuries are harder to deal with than other injuries."

"Yeah, I can see that," Lance commented softly. He lowered his hand.

Keith stood back up from the couch. "I should get to sleep, I have a long day tomorrow. Terra's got me on a physical therapy program, and it always starts early in the morning. Do you want me to show you the rooms upstairs?"

"Uh, no, I think I can find something," Lance replied, standing as well. "If nothing else, I'll crash with Hunk.

"Lance, there's plenty of rooms for everyone to have their own," Keith replied. "You really don't have to share."

Lance sighed. "Well, I never really had my own room," he explained. "Having my own bed is a bit strange to me."

Keith was quiet for a moment, contemplating something. "Um, well, I still have a hard time waking up in the morning for Millard's first meals, if you want to stay with us tonight, it could help." Lance smiled a little and nodded, following Keith into his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I finally saw season 5 of Voltron, and let's just say, I have soooooooooooo many new plot points for this fic >:D


	3. Chapter 3

Demonic. That was the only word to describe Millard's screams at three in the morning. Lance shot upright in the bed, taking a moment to remember where he was and what was happening. He looked down at the bed beside him to find Keith only slightly stirring in the bed. How could he continue to sleep through the loud cries?

He reached down and shook the other man, but still, he didn't move much. After much more aggerssive attempts to wake him, Keith finally swatted at Lance's hand and pushed himself onto his elbows.

"Am I awake?" Keith asked.

"Boy, I sure hope so," Lance replied, "otherwise you're sleeptalking, and I don't deal with that weird shit."

Keith rubbed his eyes and pushed off of the bed, movements slow and sluggish. It was strange to Lance to see him like that, as he was usually much more graceful than that. Concerned, he pushed off the bed as well to follow him. "If you're not feeling well," he said, "I can deal with the baby."

"It'll wear off in a bit," Keith assured, "it just needs a few more minutes."

"What does?"

Keith pointed to a container on the nightstand, one Lance had seen, barely, Keith using before he had crawled onto the bed next to him. He had mixed it with some water and drank it, then seemed to be out the instant his head hit the pillow. "It's called an anti-alarm clock," he explained. "The inventors here may be geniuses, but they're a bit lacking in creativity. It helps people sleep."

Lance nodded his head. "So that's why you're all loopy and stuff?" he asked.

"Yeah, it's why I have a hard time waking up to feed Millard." Keith reached into the crib to pick up the still screaming baby, whose limbs were flailing until he was safely in his father's arms. Once there, he stopped crying almost completely.

"Isn't he a bit old to still be eating this early?" Lance asked. "I thought babies stopped at this point."

"Millard doesn't eat much at night," Keith replied, rubbing the baby's back, "so he's hungry early in the morning. The last time I tried to get him to finish a bottle, he managed to knock it out of my hand. It's not affecting anything too badly, so I don't fight it anymore." He spoke as he moved to the door, shielding his eyes from the bright light once he turned them on. Fortunately, this planet, whatever the name was, knew all about adjusting lights and used them over the standard on-off.

Millard's head was tucked into Keith's neck, already falling back asleep. "Is this another 'I just want to be held' night?" Keith asked, taking Millard's hand into his grip. "It did seem odd you wanted food, you finished your bottle last night."

Keith's baby voice was making Lance's heart melt, and it felt strange. How was Keith so good at this baby thing? It wasn't fair, that was _his_ thing! No one was better with kids than Lance! But just seeing Keith with a baby seemed right, with only one thing missing. Someone else, a significant other.

Experimentally, Keith sat down on the couch, facing the large false fireplace that still emanated warmth. Slowly, he lowered the baby onto it, gauging the reaction. As expected, once he was no longer being cradled, Millard opened his eyes and reached out to Keith, making whining noises. "Okay, so it's a holding night," Keith commented lightly as he picked the baby up again.

A figure appeared on the balcony above them, looking down. "Doing alright?" a voice drifted down, one Lance couldn't quite remember. It had to be Terra, he wasn't as familiar with her voice.

"Yeah, we're fine," Keith responded. "Millard just wants to be held."

"He's a growing baby that needs sleep," she commented, throwing herself over the edge of the balcony, landing without making a sound just behind the couch. Lance almost screamed, but covered his mouth before he could. Terra's green hair fell down her shoulders as she angrily pushed it from her face. "Take him to bed, let him sleep with you, you know the drill. Go on, we have a long day."

"More PT?" Keith asked.

"No, we're heading to Ivalice," Terra explained. "Long trip, best have some sleep." Keith raised an eyebrow at her, and she sighed. "There's some things there that need to be taken to Spira and we've been asked to take it," she explained. "Now that the Leviathan has the enhancements Hope wanted to add, we're good to go."

Keith stood, Millard curled back up in his arms. "Alright, night. Again."

"Good night," Terra said and pressed a kiss to Millard's cheek. "Good night to you, too, little princey," she cooed. "Night to you, too, Lance," she said with a wave as she ascended the stairs, heading back to her room.

"Alright, how did she not break her ankles?" Lance asked when her door was finally closed.

"This planet has robots so realistic they're basically humans and magic embued in thier technology, but you can't figure out how a _mage_ didn't break her ankles when she jumped off a balcony?" Keith asked, eyebrow raised.

"Don't judge me," Lance pouted, "I'm still getting used to this whole 'magic is just another part of our lives' thing. Even Allura doesn't seem to understand how her own magic works and these people are over here doing fancy tricks with it!"

"You don't even know the half of it," Keith chuckled, walking back to his room. Lance made a talking motion with his hand as he followed. Even so, he couldn't help but smile as he watched Keith shower Millard with kisses as he moved to the bed.

"You don't mind him joining us, do you?" Keith asked, turning to Lance. "He won't sleep otherwise."

"Anything to prevent that demon screaming from happening again," Lance laughed.

Keith nodded. "Alright," he said. "Goodnight." He pressed a tired kiss to Lance's cheek and crawled onto the bed, placing Millard in the middle of the bed. Lance stood, wide eyed, in his place.

"Keith, you can't just kiss me and then go to sleep!"

\-----

She couldn't believe it. Sicarius stood in the courtyard of her castle, staring at a dead man alive. That black hair, the violet eyes, and that  _fucking scar over his right eye_. It was him, there was no doubt.

But she still doubted.

There was no way Bryndon was alive, not after eighteen years of being gone. There was no way he could have survived. There was no-

Her feet worked on their own, involuntarily moving her toward the man before her. Jory Cassel, who had escorted Bryndon home, stepped aside before she got to them and jumped into her brother's arms. They embraced for what felt like an eternity, witnesses stuck between joy and confusion at seeing their supposedly dead lord.

"You're alive," she said into his shoulder where she had pressed her face, grasping him tightly for fear he would slip away into non-existence and she would be alone again.

"I'm home," Bryndon replied. "I'm sorry, Sica, I couldn't keep him safe. I lost him."

"We'll find him," she promised. "We'll find him."

He couldn't help but think she was the best older sister the gods could bless anyone with. Sweet, loving, understanding Sicarius, who could never hate anyone in her family, who could always make everything better.

"We should go inside, Your Grace," Jory said to them softly, though his words were aimed at Sicarius. "Winter is coming, the weather is turning."

_Inside_ Bryndon thought. It had been so long since he'd last been inside the Winterfell castle, so long since he'd been in one of its beds, by the comfort of its fires. He allowed his sister to lead him inside, to the great hall where they were served food and wine. He couldn't let go of her hand, too afraid that doing so would cause the illusion to shatter and she would kill him for losing her child, the one he'd been tasked to protect. She could do it, she had the means and knowledge to make it last for days in the most painful way possible.

Sicarius' hand was warm and gentle, unlike  _hers_ and- _No, Bryndon, don't think about her!_ he yelled at himself. He was home with his last remaining bit of family, that was all that mattered.

"I want to see Maevyn." His declaration had come even as a shock to himself, but Sicarius just smiled sadly at him.

"After dinner," she replied. "He's waited eighteen years, I think he can wait a little longer."

\-----

Vera brushed Seti's hair as the girl waited patiently, watching in fascination. She was the most well-mannered five year old Vera had ever met, but she supposed she was raised well. Being raised by a prince tended to do that to children.

The door behind her opened and closed and Prince Lafor walked into the room. He looked exhausted, as he had since they arrived back at their home. "How did it go?" she asked him, Seti rushing to her father and wrapping her arms around him.

"Papa looks tired," she commented. He smiled down at her and bent down, pressing a kiss to her head.

"Papa is tired," he agreed, "and so are you, Seti. I think it's time for you to go to bed." The little girl protested, but allowed her father to take her to her room. Vera follwed close behind, hand on the hilt of her sword at all times. Her eyes never stopped roaming, never stopped watching, never stopped spying. Her ears flicked to the sounds of voices around them, searching for anything interesting and useful that could be used as blackmail.

"With Prince Lafor back," she heard a hushed voice say, "it will be harder to try and take the throne from Zarkon."

"Lafor was always the weaker brother," another voice spat back. "He can't do anything without that bitch hovering over him. If it wasn't for her, we'd have slit his throat by now." Vera's steps faltered as they shared a laugh, considering going to slit their throats instead. She placed a protective hand on the prince's arm, standing closer to him than usual.

"Perhaps it would be best for the princess to stay with us tonight," she suggested. "I don't think she's safe on her own."

"She has her guards," Lafor replied, swiping his blonde hair from his face. "They're just as capable as you, she'll be fine."

She didn't doubt that, her two guards were already standing outside her room, but that didn't make her feel any better. She didn't speak again until they had left the princess' room, fearing making the girl afraid to sleep. "We've come to a dangerous place," she said, voice low so only his ears could hear. "The princess isn't safe on her own here."

"Where would you have us go?" Lafor asked, his footsteps rushed back toward his room. "We cannot stay with the free worlds forever. Their kindness knows no bounds, but we had to return and let everyone know we're still alive."

"Because we were believed dead?" Vera asked. "It wasn't like we fled like your brother, Zarkon had us sent away for our own safety. After Lotor was banished, it seemed there would be a war, you were Zarkon's only remaining heir, he sent us away. There's no reason for everyone else to believe us dead men."

"But they would try to take the empire should my father die," Lafor replied. "They would take this already shit of an empire and make it worse. With us here, there's no chance of that happening."

"At least send the princess back," Vera pleaded, stepping into the room and bolting the door behind them. "We can protect ourselves, but she's just a child, she isn't safe!"

Lafor turned to her, arms crossed over his chest. "She lost her mother a year ago and now you want her to lose her father?" Vera opened her mouth to protest, but stopped when Lafor raised a hand to his lips in a quiet motion. She looked around the room, but nothing stood out to her. "We must be careful of what we say, even here in the supposed privacy of my room," he said, his own eyes roaming. "They could be listening, no matter where we are."

"Are they smart enough for that?" Vera asked.

"Not all of them, but the paranoid-stricken, perhaps," Lafor replied, moving to the closet to change for the night. Vera followed, long since having tossed modesty aside between them. She'd lost count of how many times they'd seen each other naked. "Perhaps the closet is safe," the prince joked, "I don't think my father expected me to conduct any meetings in here."

"Even though it's large enough for that," Vera added, a smile on her lips. "You really think this is a safe place?"

"For now, act as if it's not," Lafor answered. "I'll check every inch of this room myself tomorrow, but for now, I have something else to attend to." He searched for a piece of paper and something to write with, finding nothing. While he walked out of the closet, Vera stripped off her tight garments, relishing in the ability to breathe again, wrapping the soft silk robe around herself. She had just finished clothing herself and kicked her uniform into the corner when the prince re-entered the closet.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "What are you so worked up about?" she asked as his hand flew across the paper. He didn't speak for several minutes, and when he was finished, he simply handed the letter to her. Vera took the paper, her eyes reading the words her prince wrote.

"Do you really want to send this?" she asked worriedly. "If it falls in the wrong hands-"

"It won't," he assured. "I will be delivering this to the Seamstress myself. She will pass it on for me."

Vera shook her head. "Tricky, tricky prince," she commented.


	4. Chapter 4

Keith wasn't used to the Leviathan. There were thousands of soldiers on the ship, though they almost never saw battle, running around, checking to make sure everything was running smoothly. There were some at battle stations as a precaution, but mostly they just wandered about, having a good time together. He stayed by Terra's side, watching her check screen after screen, their location, their surroundings, what and when the crew was eating, the medical bay, and so on. At times she would tap her lip in thought, others she would wave her hand dismissively and a screen would disappear.

"You should acquaint yourself with the ship," she finally announced, smiling at him. "We're going to be here a while. I can have someone escort you around."

"Sure," Keith said, nodding his head. He didn't even remember where his room was, and that was bad, considering Millard was in there resting. "I think a tour guide would be good."

Terra pulled up another screen, a phone on it. She was going to make a video call. "Hey, there, cap!" a cheery blonde woman answered. "What can I do ya for?"

"Vestia, this is Keith," Terra introduced. "He'll be a part of our crew for a while, do you think you can show him around the ship?"

"No prob, cap! I'll be down there in a jiffy!" There was a soft noise like bells and Vestia appeared behind Keith, who screamed in surprise. "Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya," she apologized. "Alyssa asked me to try out this new teleportation device Academia created. It's a bit difficult to control, but it's way better than the other devices we have!"

"Please don't give Keith a heart attack," Terra begged. "I enjoy his company too much."

"Captain," a voice called, a screen popping up, "the Castle of Lions is approaching. What are our orders?"

"I'll talk to them," Terra replied. "Patch me through."

Allura's face popped up on the screen, betraying a hint of irritation, but staying diplomatic as always. "What can I do for you, Allura?" Terra asked.

"We were all wondering when we would arrive on this planet you have us going to," Allura replied. "We haven't heard of any activity from the Galra, and that usually means something terrible is coming."

"It's probably 'cause their prince has returned home," Vestia commented. Allura blanched as she looked at her.

"Prince Lotor-"

"Not Lotor," Terra commented dismissively, pulling up other screens again. "Zarkon's younger son, Lafor, is the one that has returned. He has been bouncing around from world to world after his brother's exile for his safety and that of his daughter with the aid of a soldier named Vera."

"How long have you known about this?" Shiro asked, appearing next to Allura. Suddenly all of the paladins were on screen, along with Coran, looking at Terra accusingly.

"Ever since the prince arrived back home," Terra replied. She pulled up a diagnostic of the ship's engines and swiped it away, to a folder labeled "Merenya" before moving onto another screen.

"And you didn't think to tell us?" Allura asked.

"What was there to tell?" Terra asked. "It wasn't important, we know what Lafor is doing. Remember, we've been taking care of him for some time."

"So you're working with Zarkon?" Coran asked, his shoulders tense. Terra scoffed and finally turned to face them.

"Working with Zarkon?" she asked. "Please, that man turns and runs with his tail tucked between his legs whenever he sees anyone from a free world. Now, if you are done throwing around accusations instead of asking nicely, we have to get back to our jobs. If you would like to land your ship in ours, we have room in our hangar for you, I'm sure Keith would enjoy your company." The paladins turned to Keith, who shrugged his shoulders.

"It's up to you," he said.

"We have at least another three days before we land," Terra explained. "I must make a call to the leaders of Ivalice to let them know our status, so if you wish to speak further, you will have to land."

"Then we will land," Allura replied firmly.

"The color of the day is chartreuse," Terra replied before she ended the call.

"Let's go, sugar," Vestia said to Keith, who followed her away. Terra pulled up another call screen, rubbing her eyes, letting out a long sigh. She broke the screen up into several sections, making multiple calls simultaneously. The first to answer was Prince Rasler, looking better than he had in years. Reks stood and left the room, most likely to check on the restoration of Nabradia.

"I take it Nabradia is finally looking like it should," Terra commented, smiling at her friend. "You're looking well rested for once."

"Reks hit me with a sleep spell," the prince replied, his voice light and playful. "But yes, Nabradia is finally looking like it once did, after five thousand years."

"In Nabradia's defense, your full attention hasn't been there," Terra replied just as Ashe answered the call. "You've been going to fight off monsters for the restoration's money for a while now."

"It is understandable that Rasler has had to fight off the monsters from far away lands," Ashe said, though her voice held no venom. Five thousand years of life had dulled her edges, taking offence to words less and less. "With Nabradia returning to its vibrancy, the monsters of the lands are returning to tear it down again."

"I meant no offence."

"And none was taken," Rasler assured. "It has been helpful to have soldiers from the other worlds to help us, though, so Reks and I can have our full attention here."

"I'm sure it is," a new voice commented as Al-Cid's face appeared on the screen. "Nabradia suffered deeply when Vayne Solidor set the Midlight Shard on her."

Rasler tilted his head, amused. "I wasn't aware Nabradia was a woman," he commented.

"Everything is a woman to my husband," Ashe huffed.

"As amusing as this is, I am sure the Lady Terra didn't call us all to talk about the gender of a country," the last voice, belonging to Larsa Solidor, commented as he finally answered the call. Standing just behind him was his brother, Vayne, returned from the dead by Exodus. He was a much more quiet man now, since his death. Now he served as his little brother's guardian.

"We will be arriving in about three days time," Terra explained, pulling up a map of their location for the royals to see. "Fran will be meeting us in Dalmasca, but the Leviathan is too large to land there, so I'm not sure where I'm supposed to be going."

"There's room in the Ozmone Plain," Ashe stated, pulling up her own map. "I can go to Jahara and ask one of the Garif to show you to the border."

"Reks and I can escort you the rest of the way to Dalmasca," Rasler promised.

"Is there a reason we were all needed for this call, my lady?" Al-Cid asked.

"There is," Terra replied. "I will need to speak with the five of you," she looked at Vayne, including him in the conversation, "when I arrive on Ivalice. There are many things we need to talk about. Ashe, can you get in contact with Fran? She'll be needed as well."

"I will see if I can," Ashe replied. "She and Balthier have not been answering their comm devices for some time."

"I will reach out as well," Rasler offered.

"I guess I'll have to as well," Terra said. "She can't say no to me and our old team."

Everyone nodded. "We will prepare for your arrival," Ashe said, snapping her fingers to catch the attention of her guards. "I'm sure Basch will be looking forward to being reunited with everyone."

"One more thing before i go," Terra said quickly. "I won't be alone. I'm bringing with me the paladins of Voltron."

"We will make accommodations for them as well," Ashe promised.

"The current blue paladin claims to be Princess Allura of Altea," Terra explained.

"Is there any proof of this claim?" Larsa asked, folding his hands on the desk before him.

Terra shook her head. "She presented none to me," she explained. "I did not challenge her, but I am skeptical."

"Does she know the price for lying about being of royal birth?" Al-Cid asked.

"I wouldn't be surprised," Terra replied, "but that hasn't stopped anyone in the past. Sharing a name with a royal is not uncommon, so I do believe her name is Allura, but I don't believe her to be the princess."

"Even if she is, Altea is no more," Rasler explained. "Before we began the restoration of Nabradia, I had no proper title, no throne to sit on. I was nothing more than a peasant, making a living off of being a hunter. Dalmasca still stood, so Ashe still had a claim to the throne. Without Altea, Allura is no princess."

"This statement is not wrong," Al-Cid said, "but we should still treat her with respect."

"We will treat them all with respect," Larsa injected. "They will be our guests, after all."

There was discussion between the four of them as they considered how to treat Allura, but Terra's mind wandered. There was a beeping on a screen, a message from the hangar that the castle had arrived. "As entertained as I am by this current conversation, I have paladins to greet," Terra interrupted, hand hovering to end the call.

"Don't let them get to you, Queen regent," Al-Cid commented. "It's been five thousand years since you last saw those lions, don't let the red one take you away from us again."

"Never again," Terra promised and hung up. Her eyes wandered, looking but not seeing, as she thought back to her days of battle during the Great War. The Red Lion's controls were clunky at best, but she did her best and helped win the war for the Free Worlds. For that she would be forever grateful, but Terra much preferred the Leviathan and her own personal battleship, knowing neither one needed to be used as the weapons they truly were.

\-----

The paladins stepped hesitantly from the castle ship, guards running around the hangar, yelling orders to each other, ignoring their guests. "I don't trust these people," Lance commented, eyeing them wearily. "Something just seems off."

A whistle grabbed their attention, a woman wearing goggles over her face and a green corset over a short romper waved her arms over her head. Her long brunette hair was pulled up into a high ponytail.

"We gotta clean up the cargo bay, we got a fuckton of shit coming for Spira!" she yelled. "So let's move, lazy asses!"

"You shut your whore mouth, Luna!" another crew mate yelled at her, laughing when Luna flipped him off. It was then that she noticed the paladins.

"Ah, you must be the captain's guests," she commented, walking over to them, her high heeled boots clicking against the metal floor. "I can show you the way to her, she'll be on the main deck."

"I think we can find her ourselves," Shiro replied, but Luna laughed at him, shaking her head.

"If you find Terra on your own, I'll cut off my tits!" she exclaimed.

"Please don't find Terra!" the crew mate who'd yelled at her screamed. "Her tits are too nice to be cut off, it would be an insult to the gods to lose them!"

"Who's got the whore mouth now, Micken!?" Luna yelled.

"Shut up, you Machina!" he yelled.

"Come say that to my face, you little shit!" she yelled. The paladins exchanged uncomfortable glances as they listened to the fight, none knowing if it was real or playful. "Look, the Leviathan is too big for you outsiders to find your way around. Hell, the only person who knows it inside and out is our captain, and that's because she's been here the longest. I still get fucked over by this ship from time to time."

"Do you think you could chill on the swearing?" Hunk asked innocently, fiddling with his hands.

"Aw, is the little baby uncomfortable?" she teased, looking too pleased with herself as she moved closer to him. "I doubt you've ever fucked a woman before. If I changed that, do you think you'd be more comfortable with swearing?"

"Leave the poor man alone," another woman yelled as she approached them. Everyone turned to face her, finding Keith trailing behind her. "I'm sorry about Luna, she's a bit brash. I'm Vestia, I can take you to the captain. I've been showing Keith around for a few hours now, it'll be nice to have some new company. Not that Keith isn't good company, he's got a good sense of humor."

"Are we talking about the same Keith?" Lance joked. Keith walked over to him as the paladins began to follow Vestia.

"Says the man that jumped into my bed," Keith said softly into Lance's ear.

"That was one time and nothing happened," Lance replied.

"And what were you expecting to happen?" Keith asked, smirking as he looped his arm around Lance's leading him away from the landing bay. Lance blushed deeply at the suggestion.

"N-nothing!" he stammered out.

Keith chuckled as he led Lance to the main deck, where Terra was waiting for them. Actually, she wasn't waiting for them, she was caught in the middle of an argument with two people, looking exhausted. "Seven hells," she muttered. "It doesn't matter who ate the last piece of cheesecake, the cooks will make more," she snapped.

"It's the principle of the matter!" the older one, a man with graying hair and spotted cat ears exclaimed, his spotted tail flicking in irritation.

 _"Karesa myana,_ " Terra swore, lowering her hand. "If I have to hear another word about cheesecake, you'll both be banned from having any until we touch down on Ivalice," she threatened. "Alyss, go tell the cooks to make more, Jett, go check on the engines, Merenya said she needs a hand checking on them." The two bowed in understanding as they made their way from their captain. She finally turned to the paladins. "Every time this ship takes off, they all look for a fight. I swear, I may actually hit someone if they can't get their shit together."

"Have we come at a bad time?" Hunk asked, still looking a bit shaken from the encounter with Luna.

"It's always a bad time," Terra joked.

"They caught Luna at a bad time, tha's for sure," Vestia commented. "She's horny."

Terra rolled her eyes. "She's always horny," she replied. "I hope she wasn't too much trouble."

"No, she just tried to get into Hunk's pants is all," Lance snapped, pouting. "He's too good for that kind of behavior."

"Aw, I love you, too," Hunk cooed.

"I'm going to check on Millard," Keith said. "The doctor should be done with the check up."

Terra waved goodbye before he left again, taking a tablet in frustration as it was handed to her. "I'm sorry, Captain, but Vaan said you need to check the inventory to make sure they have everything," she was informed.

"Of course," Terra replied, already scrolling through it. "Would you all like anything?" It took the paladins a moment to realize she was speaking to them.

"Some food would be nice," Hunk replied. Terra nodded and offered a kind smile.

"Of course, we've been riding for quite a while now," she commented. "I have a tendency to forget to eat during long journeys, my crew has to remind me, and one more than one occasion, they've had to hold me down and force food down my throat. Thankfully, our cooks are impeccable, they make the best food I've ever eaten."

"You should taste Hunk's food," Pidge gushed. Terra chuckled.

"You'll have to make something for us," she said to him. "I'm sure our cooks would like a good challenge."

"Sounds fun," Hunk commented.

Terra waved her arm out, leading them to the dining area. She walked up to the window where the cooks resided, looking bored. "We've got a large order," she told them. "There's...seven of us."

"The biggest order all day," the cook she was speaking to grunted. "Finally something we can all work on. What do you want?"

"Surprise us," she responded, the two of them exchanging smirks.

"A challenge then," he commented. "Alright, meal for seven coming up."

Terra waved the paladins to a table in a secluded corner, drawing shut the door after they'd all stepped into the room. "So, I am sure we have much to discuss," she commented as she took her seat as the head of the table. "We didn't get to properly speak last we were together. Did you take a look around Academia?"

"I did," Pidge replied eagerly. "I had no idea the bounds technology was making."

"Hope prefers to focus on things used to heal and protect," Terra said, "not kill. This ship and its siblings are really the only weapons he's made, and they were born on Ivalice, not under the hand of Academia. He simply gutted them, made them bigger, their weapons stronger, in case the Glara decided to attack us again. The equipment in the med bay is, in my opinion, far more amazing."

"Yes, the medical tech I saw at Academia was stunning," Pidge swooned. "I wish I knew how it was done."

"So do I," Terra admitted, "but technology isn't my strong point."

"If you have all this technology, why wouldn't you use it for weapons?" Shiro asked. "There's so many people that need help."

"And you think weapons are going to help them?" Terra asked. She filled her cup with dark liquid and took a drink. "In my experience, showing off your weapons is like men comparing cocks. It becomes a competition and it never ends well. If you really want to end war, you have to sit down and talk like adults, form alliances, make treaties, swear oaths, the likes. You wouldn't believe the number of Galra soldiers we've converted to our side simply by bringing them back from the brink of death."

"So you have helped the Galra before?" Allura asked, though she didn't sound angry this time. She seemed genuinely curious.

"Fear breeds loyalty for a time, but kindness breeds genuine loyalty," Terra explained. "If your people love you, they will die for you. If you love them, you will do everything in your power to keep them from doing so, and the circle continues."

Her mind wandered to a certain raven haired, violet eyed woman who had cried as she held her dead banner man in her arms. Her people had sworn their lives to her as she burned the dead man's body, her eyes never leaving the fire.

She thought back to all the dead soldiers that had given their lives to save her own, and how so many of them meant nothing. She imagined having to tell the families of those soldiers their loved ones wouldn't come home, her words sincere but unable to do anything. They were words, they couldn't bring the dead back to life. Still, they had loved her for that simple act.

"There is much you all must learn if you want to play this game well," Terra told them.

"This is no game," Coran responded.

"The only people who say that are the ones who die," Terra replied. "The first rule you must learn is to never trust anyone."

Ironic for her to say that, considering she trusted plenty of people, but they didn't need to know that.

\-----

"Your Grace," Lafor was greeted as he entered the tent belonging to the Seamstress. She was wearing a thick, forest-green robe, tied above her swollen belly with an elegant gold cord. Her hair rested in a loose braid against her shoulder.

"My lady," he greeted, taking her hand in his own, pressing a kiss to it. "I do not wish to keep you long, I know you are quite busy at the moment. You are due soon, I've heard."

"A few weeks," she said. "I must confess, the closer I get, the more nervous I become. Many nights I've laid awake, dreading the day my child comes, begging the gods to let me bypass my labor."

Lafor chuckled. "I remember my wife's labor, before she died," he said. "I remember quite a lot about her. She, too, didn't have the medications that the Academia has to offer. If I may, I would suggest calling Hope and asking for his assistance, it may ease your mind."

"I will have to do that," she agreed, a nervous chuckle leaving her lips. "What can I do for you, Lafor?"

He pulled out the letter he'd written, his personal stamp, a crowned hyena, and handed it to her. "I need you to pass this to Queen Sicarius," he informed her. "With the baby coming, you can call her here, or if nothing else, I trust Bobbin, he can pass it to her."

"What does it say?" Tailor asked, bringing the letter closer to herself. Her fingers itched to open the letter and read its contents, but she wouldn't, not without permission.

"My father plans to extend to the queen a marriage proposal," Lafor told her. "He knows her son is still alive. He wishes to offer his neice's hand to him as a way to bring the two together. And then slit the boy's throat."

"The marriages will never end between them, will they?" Tailor asked. "This would be the third, if I remember correctly. How many people have died at one of their weddings?"

"Only one at the first," Lafor replied, pouring himself a cup of water, another for Tailor.

"I wasn't aware you poured your own water," Tailor joked, letting out a soft chuckle.

"A third of my father's generals died at the second," Lafor finished. "He was an idiot to take his best to a wedding with the woman he'd wronged, and is known for being the most vengeful person in the universe. He thought he'd won when he killed Sicarius' cousin, but that was the moment he lost."

"I suppose it was," Tailor replied. "Have you heard about your brother?"

"No."

"Apparently he's making his way back to your father's ship of residence, he plans to kill him and take the throne."

"My brothers were always ambitious men," Lafor spat. "Brutes. They always think with their weapons, not their heads. The first two died because of it, the other exiled, and now he plans to take what is 'his by right'? With what army?"

"No army, just four generals."

Lafor let out a single laugh, cutting the silent air. "He thinks he can defeat our father with four generals?" he asked. "I have to give him points for ambition, though I'm inclined to call it stupidity. I can't blame him, though, I suppose, he doesn't have the aid of the Free Worlds. If I asked her, Sicarius would rally her men and shoot my father full of arrows, or blow him up with Wildfire, that seems more her way, but what resources does Lotor have? If he wasn't so full of fucking pride, he might have sought me out."

"You always were the smart one," Tailor replied, taking a sip of her water. Her throat was so parched it burned going down. "But you've learned from the best."

"It's the only way to keep Seti safe."

"The things we do for the ones we love." They shared a meaningful glance and nodded. "I will get this to Sicarius," Tailor promised. She placed her hands on her legs and tried to stand, but the chair was too plush, leaving her stuck. Lafor offered his hands and helped her to her feet. "There's still time before the baby arrives."

"I trust you'll be safe."

"And I you, Lafor."


	5. Chapter 5

The desert. It was always a desert where Keith was concerned. Unfortunately, with how large the Leviathan was, they couldn't land the ship, even in the open vastness of the Ozmone Plain. There wasn't a stretch of land even enough for that, so the paladins flew down on smaller ships with some crew members, dropped off in the plains while the crew flew off. There was no real explanation as to why they had to be dumped off instead of going with the crew, but Keith didn't argue.

It was nice to see trees, but the paladins soon found themselves in the desert of the Dalmasca Estersand, as Terra had informed them. She had chosen to stay with her crew to ensure the safe arrival of the resources for Spira, so again Keith had to wonder what exactly he and the paladins were doing in the desert. It felt like an elaborate scheme, a set up.

There were too many creatures littering the area to be safe. Wolves and fat, round birds, and flying fish, the animals of the world were strange and magical. He nursed a wound on his arm given to him by a metal spider.

"It looks like we're almost there," Shiro commented, looking at the map given to him. "There's only a little more ways to go."

"This place is confusing," Pidge commented. "This is why I don't like being outdoors."

"There's so much sand," Lance whined. "Keith, how did you survive living in this?"

Keith didn't answer. Something had caught his eye, some movement, but it wasn't another fiend. It was too quick, too fluid, to have been. Ignoring the aching in his feet, he followed the direction the movement had come from, too focused to notice his friends yelling at him to go back, to not stray from the group. He rounded the corner when he heard the sound of a sword being drawn from a sheath, a soft gasp leaving his lips as the metal stopped inches from piercing his chest.

"Who are you?" a voice asked, the owner's face covered in cloth, only his slate-blue eyes visible. Keith took a step back, trying to put some distance between himself and the mystery man, his hands flying to the knife ha carried at his back.

The paladins rushed to his side when they saw what was happening, drawing their bayards, ready to attack. "Drop your weapon" Allura yelled.

"Drop yours!" the man yelled back. "You're walking on our land, our soil, and haven't even told us who you are!"

"We are the paladins of Voltron," Shiro explained, trying to diffuse the tension. The man didn't lower his sword, still pointed at Keith, but did seem to waiver, before he finally dropped his sword to his side.

He eyed them all wearily before asking "Who sent you?". They all quickly answered that they were with Terra, who had dropped them off for whatever reason. "Probably to get me," he muttered, sheathing his sword before he turned on his feet and headed toward the city proper, waving for them to follow.

"So he draws a sword on us and then expects us to trust him?" Lance scoffed as they followed the mystery man. "He could at least tell us his name."

"It's Reks," the man said, clearly having heard Lance's comments. "And in case you're wondering, invasions aren't something we aren't used to here." Keith laid a hand against his chest, where the sword had almost pierced him, his heart beating harshly against his ribs. He'd had plenty of near-death experiences, but there was something about that one that had put him in a panic.

Once in the city, Reks removed the cloth wrapped around his head, ruffling his ash blonde hair, stuffing the cloth in a pouch at his waist. The citizens of the capitol, Rabanastre, turned and watched the group, wondering what their hunter hero was doing with strangers such as the ones following him closely. A few of the Lowtown children ran up to them, pointing at the paladins, asking Reks if they could touch Allura's hair. It was just as pretty as Fran's, and _she_ always let them play with it.

"Perhaps later," Allura replied. The children shied away when she spoke, as if frightened by her. A brunet man approached them, looking cocky and entertained.

"Run along, children," he commanded, swiping his arm, "our guests don't need to be disturbed."

"Tomaj," Reks said, stepping toward him, "to what do I owe the pleasure? Are you here to escort me to the palace?"

"If only," the man, Tomaj, replied, laughing heartily. "No, but Rasler did tell me to tell you that your presence is required in the Grand Council Room, whatever that means. That place has too many rooms, none of which mean anything to us commoners."

"How urgently am I needed?" Reks asked. "Do I have time to stop by the clan hall and touch base with Montblanc?"

"Not from what I was told."

Reks sighed and nodded his head, tossing a small pouch to the other man. "I probably won't even have time to change or shower," he complained under his breath, but Keith heard. That's when he noticed the dried blood on the man's clothes. He wanted to ask, but he didn't have the heart, or the stomach.

As they approached the palace gates, Reks waved the guards off and walked in without a care, nor an explanation as to who the newcomers were, just walked on by them. The others hesitated for only a moment before they continued to follow him.

"Lord Reks," a robed man greeted, "your presence-"

"Is requested in the Great Council Room," Reks interrupted. "And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Lord?"

"You are the king consort!" the man insisted. "I must show you the same respect." Reks stopped and raised an eyebrow at the man before he sighed.

"Fine. Take this to my quarters." He shoved his sword and shield into the man's hands and led the way to the council room, where a group of people was waiting for them. "Alright, I'm here," Reks announced. "I'm covered in blood and guts, the best time to have a conversation with the leaders of the world."

He took his seat next to Rasler, who could only roll his eyes at his lovers' antics. "Dramatic as always, I see," he whispered to the other man, earning a shove in the arm. 

"Since we are all present now, shall we begin?" the youngest person in the room asked. He looked like he couldn't be much older than Keith, late teens, early twenties perhaps. "I believe introductions are in order, for our guests. My name is Larsa Solidor, this is my brother, Vayne." He used his hand to motion to the man sitting to his right.

"I am Queen Ashelia Dalmasca," Ashe greeted, bowing her head slightly at the paladins. "This is my husband, Al-Cid Margrace." The king casually flicked his hand in what Keith assumed was supposed to be some kind of wave.

"I am Rasler Nabradia," Rasler greeted. "You have already met my husband, Reks."

"It is a pleasure to meet you all," Allura said kindly. "I am Princess Allura of Altea." The members of the council shared a quick glance with each other, though it seemed only Keith saw. "These are the paladins of Voltron, Shiro, Lance, Hunk, and Pidge. This is Coran, my advisor."

"That means the last one is the famed Keith Terra has been speaking of since arriving," Al-Cid said, his R's rolling and  _fuck,_ Keith would be lying if he said his voice wasn't sexy.

"I am," Keith replied after he cleared his throat.

"You survived being attacked by an entire Glara fleet," Larsa commented. "For at least an entire day." There was awe in his voice that Keith hadn't heard from anyone else. "How did you manage such a feat?"

"I...don't know," Keith answered. "I just...told myself it wasn't the day to die."

"You are quite an impressive specimen," Al-Cid commented. "Are you interested in women?"

"Al-Cid!" Ashe hissed and kicked him under the table. However, it was Vayne that screamed out in pain, and Reks couldn't help but laugh as they tried to sort out the accident.

"Keith? Interested in women?" Lance scoffed. "He's not interested in anyone."

Keith drew in a sharp breath at the comment. Terra looked at him, her head tilting in confusion, but Keith shook his own at her slightly.

"Now that introductions are out of the way," she said, drawing attention from Keith, "we should begin. First and foremost, we need to discuss Spira."

Rasler tapped the table, signaling the others to sit. "We have heard disturbing reports that there is a lot of Galra activity surrounding the planet," Larsa announced.

"They don't seem to be afraid on Spira," Al-Cid commented, "but they are rather annoyed that they have to deal with them and Sin at the same time. Lady Yuna is feeling overwhelmed, though she believes they will be able to handle the problem once they have the resources we are giving them."

Terra nodded. "I can see what assistance they might need and have the Leviathan patrol the atmosphere," she said absentmindedly.

"Both Prince Lotor and Lafor have returned to the Galra empire," Rasler said. "If we aren't careful, there could be another war, between brothers no less."

Terra threaded her fingers together, placing them on the table, looking uncomfortable. "What can we do to prevent this?" she asked.

"Nothing," Al-Cid remarked before anyone else could say anything. "The Galra people follow Zarkon because they fear him, that is the reason deep down. Once he is out of the picture, they will fight among themselves a bloody battle to see who will take the throne. They do not fear either princes, perhaps the older two, but they are long dead now."

"Perhaps we shall let them destroy themselves from the inside," Ashe commented, "let the members of the Blade of Marmora and Order of Drozan come together and continue the race. It will be a blank slate, a new start."

"The members of the Order and the Blade couldn't agree on anything, even if their lives depended on it," Reks jumped in. "They'd tear each other apart just like the others loyal to Zarkon."

"We'd have to talk with Kolivan," Terra said, sitting up straighter in her seat. "We won't be able to make any real progress if the two factions are fighting each other as much as the Galra soldiers are."

"What progress are you speaking of?" Allura asked.

"We are trying to bring together the Order and the Blade so we can finally end the Galra empire," Rasler explained.

"Why do they need to come together?" Pidge asked.

"Our plan isn't to bring about the genocide of the Galra race," Terra explained, "only end the tyranny Zarkon and any of his successors will bring about. In order to preserve the race, the Order and Blade must come together."

Keith thought back to Millard, resting still on the Leviathan. "That's easier said than done," he stated. Terra nodded sadly at him, knowing all too well.

"Keith is a member of the Blade," she announced.

"Former member," Keith corrected, his fingers wrapping tightly around the arms of his seat. Terra nodded again.

"Former member," she corrected herself.

"I am sure you have many questions for us," Larsa commented, turning his attention to the paladins. "We do not have all the answers, but we will do our best."

The paladins looked at each other, trying to figure out where to begin. Allura was about to open her mouth when the door opened and closed behind them, a man with blonde hair and heavy armor stepping into the room. "I am sorry to interrupt," he said, "but I have news from Tailor." He handed a rolled up paper to Ashe, who scanned it before handing it around the table. When it reached Terra, she took her time, tensing with each sentence she read.

"The hyena says the emporor plans to unite his house with the burning heart," she said. "He believes the universe will burn."

"What does that mean?" Shiro asked.

"It means we need to get to Spira quickly and meet with Lafor," Terra replied. "I'm sorry to cut this meeting short, my lords, my lady." She stood and waved the letter around. "Am I allowed to keep this?"

"You're the one that actually travels," Reks replied, "I don't see why not."

She hurried to the door, looping her arm in Keith's and pulling him from the room. "Why are we rushing?" he asked. "What's going on?"

"A lot," Terra replied. "Zarkon is a dying man and his sons both want power of the empire, for very different reasons. We need to stop them before they destroy more than just their own people."

\-----

Keith decided he would never put his son down again. When they returned to the Leviathan, Millard was screaming at the top of his lungs and wouldn't calm down until Keith was holding him, and even then, he was still crying. He paced about his room, rubbing the baby's back and pressing kisses to his cheeks, doing his best to calm the baby. He refused his toys and his bottle, his diaper was clean, though Keith still changed it, so he was just being fussy.

"Come on, don't be like this," Keith said, laying Millard down on the bed, playing with his hands. When Millard started giggling, Keith smiled down at him, and started singing to him softly. Millard didn't fall asleep, but he did stop crying, mesmerized by the new sound. "Do you remember when Mommy sang to you?" Keith asked, picking Millard up again. "Probably not, but I do."

He opened the door to his room and stepped out, heading toward the topmost deck of the ship. "You would have loved her," Keith said softly. "Mommy was a wonderful woman, she loved and cared for everyone, even those who were mean to her." He stepped onto the elevation dais, telling it to go up.

He felt his throat clench and run dry talking about Valika. It hurt, knowing he'd never see her again, and he couldn't bring himself to mention Nirvok. Millard looked around curiously, watching the people rushing around him as he ascended to the ship's highest deck.

When the dais came to a stop and Keith stepped off onto the observation deck, he saw they weren't alone, he wasn't the only one that thought to look at the stars. Lance turned around when he heard the dais and smiled at Millard.

"Decided to bring the little guy up here?" he asked, walking over to them.

"Millard's never been up here," Keith replied, stepping closer to the window. He shifted Millard in his arms until the baby was facing the glass, watching the stars streak past them.

Lance's heart swelled at the image of Keith cooing at a baby in front of him, tightening almost painfully in his chest. He never thought he'd see the scene in front of him, Keith holding a baby and talking to him, pointing out stars, telling Millard stories. The baby giggled a lot; he was a happy baby, whenever Keith wasn't away. It was the most adorable sound Lance had ever heard, or at least had heard for a while.

Millard wore himself out, watching the stars, trying to catch them. He fell asleep in Keith's arms, so Keith walked to the couch in the middle of the room and laid him down on it, keeping a hand on him so he wouldn't roll off.

Lance took a seat opposite him so they could face each other. "Do you ever miss his parents?" he asked.

Keith took a deep breath and nodded. "Every day," he replied. "They meant a lot to me."

"I can imagine," Lance said.

"Your family back on Earth, you miss them, right?" Keith asked. Lance tensed at the question. "My dad died when I was young. I have some memories of him and...he was a good dad, he did his best with what we had."

"Can I tell you something?" Lance asked. Keith looked at him and nodded his head. "I...I can't remember what my siblings look like. I can't remember what my mother's voice sounds like."

Keith opened his mouth to say something, but what could he say? He'd forgotten what his father sounded like years ago, the image of him when he first met with the Blade could have been wrong. Unable to say anything reassuring, he did the one thing he could think of: he reached out to take Lance's hand.

"I just want to go home," Lance admitted softly, breaking the silence.

"So do I," Keith replied.

They sat in silence for a while, their eyes returning to the stars. There was something about being there together, like that, acting as each other's crutches in a cruel world in a cruel time. It was Lance who broke away first, stating that he was tired and wanted to go to sleep. "I should get to bed as well, and I really shouldn't be letting Millard sleep everywhere on the ship, he won't get used to his crib. I can walk with you."

"Oh, it's fine," Lance insisted, but Keith was already picking Millard up, careful not to wake him.

"We're heading in the same direction," Keith said and called the dais up to them. "It's not a big deal."

"Actually, I'm going to go talk to Hunk," Lance said.

"It's still on the way to my room," Keith insisted. Lance sighed, but stopped fighting him, letting him walk him to Hunk's room. Just before he knocked on the door, a hand wrapped around his arm, grabbing his attention. He turned to find Keith had gripped his arm. "I'm sorry...about what you said earlier," Keith said softly before he let go of Lance's arm and walked to his room.


	6. Chapter 6

Deep azure water lapped lazily at the paladins' feet once they touched down on Spira, a nice welcome to a foreign planet. Nicer than most of the other planets they'd been to already. A group of people waited for the Leviathan to touch down, ready to move supplies from one ship to another.

"Ienzo, Kairi, Aeleus, these are the paladins of Voltron," Terra introduced. She then waved her hand at another group of people. "These are Yuna, the Summoner of Besaid, and her guardians, Tidus, Lulu, Wakka, Auron, Rikku, and Kimahri." Some of them waved energetically, the others making some small motion of greeting. Millard squirmed in Keith's arms, so he took him to the water's edge and dipped his feet in.

Lance joined him while the others began to move the crates of supplies onto the boats docked in the harbor. Millard kicked his legs enthusiastically, mesmerized by the water as it splashed about. Lance splashed some of the water up on him, making the baby giggle loudly. Keith couldn't hold back a smile as he watched the scene, bending down to put the baby further into the water, oblivious to the way Lance stared at him.

"Do you like the water?" Keith asked Millard, using a happy baby-voice. Millard replied by splashing more water, this time with his hands, which could now reach the water.

Back up on the dock, Terra was speaking with Ienzo. "Where's Fran?" she asked. He set aside the crate he was working on moving and sighed, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Waiting at the temple," he answered. "She's waiting for you with someone else. At first I thought it was him," and he pointed at Shiro, "but his scent is different. A twin?"

"No," Terra replied, raising an eyebrow. "But if there's someone that looks like him waiting at the temple, then my suspicions are confirmed."

"Haggar's been playing with clones," Ienzo said, looking over at Shiro. "It would explain why the scent of Galra clings to him so much. How long has he been with them?"

"Months, apparently," Terra replied. "Maybe a year. Is this something we need to concern Hope with?"

"Haggar wouldn't just let her best clone so far leave without some kind of activation code, or at least some kind of plan," Ienzo replied. "At this point, I think we're safe, but we need to keep a close eye on him. I'll contact Vera, see if we can get her to squeeze some information from Haggar or one of the Druids, but don't keep your hopes up."

"Don't we have one of the Druids as a spy?" Terra asked.

"It's best not to disturb him with this," Ienzo remarked. "If Haggar realizes what he's doing, she'll off him before he knows what's happening. Vera's better when it comes to magic, she's dealt with Mist magic before. Haggar's nothing compared to Reks, or you." Terra nodded in understanding.

"Do we tell him?" she asked, turning to the Shiro-clone.

"Would you want to be told, or would you want to see it for yourself?" Ienzo asked.

"I'd rather be told," Terra replied. "There will be denial involved, but once he can see the real Shiro, he'll know. At least if we tell him, he can wrap his mind around it before we get to the temple."

"And the others?"

"We'll tell them after, as a courtesy. He should know first."

Ienzo nodded and stood again, moving the crate onto the boat it was needed on as two more ships appeared with more supplies. "Light's also with Fran!" he yelled back at Terra before he moved to help unload. Rydia and Rinoa stepped off their respective ships, going through introductions quickly so they could start telling people where to put things.

"There's a lot of people here," Hunk commented as he looked at all the people on the dock.

"Spira needs the most resources," Rydia explained, walking over to the paladins. "Whenever we bring in large shipments from many worlds like this, we ask as many people to help us as possible. Ienzo, Kairi, and Aeleus were on their way home when we sent out the request, so they agreed to help us. They'll be leaving once the job here is done."

Ienzo approached them and asked to speak to Shiro in private. It was strange, a stranger asking to speak with their leader privately, but it was to be expected as the leader of Voltron.

Keith stepped out of the water with a now soaking baby Millard, who shivered visibly in the warm Besaid air. He spoke softly to Lance, who nodded and joined the group.

"Shiro went off to talk to the pretty boy?" Lance asked, his voice teasing, motioning toward the ship the two had disappeared inside of. "Wonder what's _really_ going on in that ship."

"Hopefully nothing that will end Zo's relationship with his queen," the red-head, Kairi, joked as she walked over to them. "The Ifrit is cleared, Ryd, so whenever you're ready, your crew is ready for departure."

"Tell them I'll be joining Yuna for dinner, and they're welcome to join," Rydia replied. Kairi nodded her head once, firmly, and turned on her heel toward the ship.

"It's quite an impressive ship you got there!" Coran explained as he looked at the Ifrit.

"It used to be much smaller," Rydia explained. "It's one of the few Archadian ships Hope completely gutted when he got his hands on it. The Catoblepas was another one. That's Rinoa's ship. Over there is the Alexander, Lightning captains that one." It was one of the larger two, larger even than the Leviathan, which was impressive, considering the size of Terra's ship. "The largest one is the Bahamut. During the Battle over Rabanastre, the Bahamut was the largest airship around, perhaps even ever at that point. It collapsed after the battle, and we all thought it was lost for good, but Hope and his team came through and made it good as new again. Fran runs that one."

"Who's Fran?" Pidge asked.

"Back when we were paladins of Voltron, she was our leader," Rydia explained.

"Wait, what!?" the paladins exclaimed, looking at her like she'd grown an extra head.

"How could you have been a paladin?" Allura asked. "My father locked the lions away after the fall of Altea!"

"Altean magic is weak," Rydia said with a shrug, "and easy to imitate. Once we were done with the lions, we sent them back where they came from."

Allura looked ready to blow a gasket, but that changed when she saw Kairi playing with the water, making it take the form of people and dancing with them. She joked that someone named Myde taught her how to do it.

"Well, it seems their magic is pretty impressive," Hunk commented lightly.

Keith stepped off the Leviathan at the same time Shiro stepped off the Yin-Yang with Ienzo behind him. He was pale, like he'd seen a ghost, and his movements were sluggish. Keith waited for him, concern written clear as day on his face.

"Shiro, are you alright?" he asked. Shiro couldn't form a reply.

"Not Shiro," Ienzo stated before he whistled, grabbing the attention of his two friends, who entered their ship to take off. Keith rested a hand on Shiro's arm, trying to get him to talk, but he just pushed past, staring blankly ahead of himself.

_Not Shiro. What did he mean by that?_

"Alright, let's head to town to get dinner!" Rydia yelled, clapping her hands together to get the attention of the crews. They all cheered, some people racing their friends to get to town first.

\-----

Keith felt the breath leave his lungs, as if he'd been punched. His arms shook so badly he almost dropped Millard, who was scooped up into Terra's arms before he could fall. A tall woman, the elusive Fran, stood behind Shiro, the  _real_ Shiro, who looked just as shocked as Keith felt. Arms now free, Keith ran to him and threw himself into his friend's arms, clinging tightly to him.

This felt right. This felt like Shiro. Everything seemed  _right_ now.

They held each other for a long time before they pulled apart, letting the others have their reunion with their leader, who had a lot of questions about Allura's armor. When they got around to explaining the lion shift that took place after he disappeared, his clone moved to an empty room in the temple. The Besaid temple might not have had spacious rooms, but there were lots of them.

Keith followed him with his eyes, his heart falling.

_You're right, you don't belong out there. But here, with us? This is where you belong._

His feet moved before he could process what was happening. When he pushed open the door to the room the clone had hidden in, he found him pacing the room, head in his hands. This anger, this should have been Keith's first clue, and it was, but he'd misread the sign. He stepped in and closed the door.

Clone-Shiro's head snapped up when he heard the door shut and lock. "I thought you'd want some privacy," Keith explained.

"What do you want?" the clone hissed, clenching his hands into fists. Keith looked around the room, taking tentative steps forward.

"When we first found you, I was so relieved," Keith explained. "When you started fighting with me, I wondered what I'd done so wrong to piss off the ever calm Takashi Shirogane. Perhaps I really was that much of a fuck up." His eyes landed on the clone.

"If you're here to make me feel worse, you're doing a good job," Clone-Shiro snapped.

"When I joined the Blade, I didn't fit in," Keith continued. "I made rash decisions, went against orders to do what I thought was right. I didn't fit in no matter where I was, whether it was Voltron, or the Blade. But there was someone who saw something in me that I didn't see in myself, and she took me under her wing, cared for me. Her husband was there, too. And..."

"And?"

Keith took a deep breath. "I know you're having a crisis. I know you think you don't belong with us now. I know." He had walked over to Clone-Shiro and wrapped his fingers around his arms in a tight grip. "Perhaps you don't. But that doesn't mean you don't fit in anywhere. You could join one of the crews, help these worlds. You can find the people you belong with."

Clone-Shiro deflates, pulling Keith close, relying on him to hold him upright. It was a struggle considering Keith's smaller stature, but they found a way.

"You're going to need a new name," Keith commented after a few minutes. "You're your own person after all."

"Yeah. All I can think of is Kuro."

"Kuro's a good name."

They share a soft chuckle before finally peeling away from each other. "So, what happened with your friends?" Kuro asked. "The ones in the Blade."

Keith clapped his hands together nervously, letting out a strangled noise at the back of his throat. "I found out the hard way that the Blade doesn't take well to polygamy," Keith explained. "The only reason Kolivan let me keep Millard is the fact that there's a possibility he's mine."

\-----

"UGH! I don't know what to do!" Lance exclaimed dramatically as he laid across Hunk's lap. The yellow paladin patted his friend's back soothingly.

"It's not that bad," Hunk assured. "It's just a crush."

"On _Keith_!" Lance yelled. "It doesn't make sense! We're Lance and Keith, universe's biggest rivals, I'm not supposed to be falling for him!"

"Well, he's changed a lot. That's probably why your feelings toward him have changed."

He looked over at Keith, who was being taught by Yuna one of the traditional Summoner dances. Apparently she thought he was a Summoner when she'd first met him, and was trying to convince him to visit Valefor, who was deep inside the heart of the temple. He actually wasn't bad, either.

And there was that smile again. It was almost as bright as the bonfire lit in the middle of the group of people, if not more, looking like the smiles told about in poems, or the ones that started wars. He wanted Keith to be his, he wanted to wake up to him laying beside him, like when they'd been reunited and Lance was asked to stay with Keith.

Keith had said nothing happened that night, but he was wrong. So much had happened that night, starting with Lance's feelings for him beginning to change.

It didn't help that Keith looked so natural with a baby in his hands, and Lance had dreamed about having a family. Keith had taken Millard back in his arms and walked over to Shiro, the real one, and started catching up with him, having missed pretty much everything when he went to comfort Shiro's clone earlier.

"Just tell him!" Hunk exclaimed.

"No!" Lance refused. They were going to keep fighting with each other, back and forth, when Keith walked over to them.

"What are you two arguing about?" he asked, Millard's wide eyes making their way to Lance before he reached out to him. Lance cooed and took the baby in his arms, pressing kisses to his chubby cheeks.

"Just about you. And Lance." Hunk's cheeky grin was suspicious, but Keith was too tired to care.

"Well, I'm going to head to bed for the night," Keith announced. "Yuna's offered a place in town for us to stay for the night. You're more than welcome to come stay with us tonight, we'll be in the big hut." His offer was aimed at Lance, who was glad that the fire made his face look red as a blush painted it.

"Um, yeah, uh, I'll think about it," he replied with a cheeky grin as Keith bent down to take Millard back, but when he did, the baby started crying. "So, it seems Millard wants me to take him," Lance said, taking him back when he was handed over. He walked with Keith the the hut, and decided that, since he was there, he would just go to bed. After all,  _he was already there._


	7. Chapter 7

The sky was orange outside when Lance woke up. Millard was still fast asleep in his crib, but Keith was nowhere to be found, but there was a note on his bed. Lance picked it up and read it.

_I had a bad dream and couldn't get back to sleep, so I went for a walk. I didn't want to wake Millard, so keep an eye on him for me? Thanks, Lance._

Lance allowed himself a small smile before he walked over to the baby, who was beginning to wake, soft little cries coming from his throat. He would surely be hungry, but he usually refused bottles from anyone that wasn't Keith, so Lance took Millard to make a bottle and hunt down his father.

When Lance stepped outside to hunt Keith down, he didn’t have to look far, as the older man was walking back toward the hut he was staying in. He looked lost in his thoughts, obviously thinking hard about something, but when he spotted Lance and Millard, he smiled widely, though he was evidently tired. He scooped Millard into his arms when he reached them, pressing kisses to the baby’s cheeks before taking the offered bottle.

“He wouldn’t eat?” he asked Lance curiously, who shrugged.

“I didn’t really try,” Lance admitted, “but from previous experience, no.”

Keith chuckled as he pressed the bottle into Millard’s mouth. “Well, I guess I can’t blame you for not trying. I know his meltdowns are the worst.”

He thought back to the days when Valika was feeding him instead, when Kolivan had tried to just _hold_ the baby and he had a meltdown. Keith had never seen the man confused, but Kolivan had no idea what to do in that moment, and that didn’t change until Nirvok handed the baby back to his mother.

When he finished eating, Millard curled up in Keith’s arms, making sounds of protest when Keith attempted to hand him back to Lance. The red paladin pouted a little at the baby, but he was already fast asleep again.

"We should head back," Lance commented after a moment. "I'm sure the others will be looking for us."

"Right. I told Yuna I'd go to the temple with her as well."

\-----

It was strange, sitting in front of Zarkon again, but here Sicarius was, dressed in one of her best gowns to talk negotiations with the man. Lafor's letter was tucked into a hidden pocket just inside, a reminder of the lies the emperor was speaking.

"I'm surprised you were brave enough to meet with me in person," Sicarius commented, taking a sip of wine from the goblet sitting in front of her. "The last time we sat in a room together, a third of your best generals were killed, and you barely escaped with your own life."

"I will never forget," Zarkon replied. "But we have been warring with each other for far too long now, when we should be helping each other."

Sicarius raised an eyebrow and tilted her head. "How so?" she asked.

"If we worked together, we could rule the universe and bring down Voltron. Nothing could stop us."

Sicarius let out a dry laugh. "Voltron is nothing more than a children's tale," she replied. "And I fail to see how marrying my son to your niece, I believe it was, will help  _us_ rule the universe."

Bryndon looked over at his sister, confused.  _How can Sica not read him?_ he thought to himself, knowing she was always ten steps ahead of her enemies and allies usually. She just gave him a small smile in reply.

"I was the paladin of the Black Lion back when Voltron was first created," Zarkon growled out. "Rest assured, it is no children's tale."

"Even if Voltron is real, it is still no match for anything Hope has created at the Academia," Sicarius replied. "The only reason the space kitties haven't been destroyed,  _if they are real_ , is because we of the Free Worlds are neutral in whatever war you've started. We are concerned with supporting each other."

"And as for this marriage," Zarkon continued, ignoring the queen's statement, "I know you would shoot down any offer of marriage yourself."

"I haven't seen my son in almost nineteen years," Sicarius replied. "I don't even know if he's still alive."

"Your brother returned home. It's only a matter of time before your son does. When he does, why not have a future queen lined up for him?"

Sicarius placed her goblet back down on the table, lightly, but still allowing her contempt with the situation to show through. "I will have to think on your generous offer, Lord Zarkon," she replied evenly, her voice devoid of all emotion. "You will have my reply by the turn of the season."

"And when exactly will that be?" Haggar asked. She had been silent throughout the meeting, trying her best to blend into the background.

"Soon," Sicarius replied. "Winter is Coming."

_At some point, the damn Starks are always right. Never have you ever spoken more true words, Robert._

"You've been saying that for the past five years," Haggar pointed out, eyes narrowing in suspicion at her. "How do we know Winter will arrive soon? How do we know it won't arrive in another five years?"

"And how do we know my son is alive?" Sicarius asked in lieu of an answer. "Winter arriving within the year is far more likely to happen than Jaehaerys returning home."

"Jaehaerys?" Zarkon asked. "I was told he had a different name."

"No," Sicarius answered. "He was named for the father of our house."

Zarkon and Haggar exchanged a glance, their faces telling the queen they had lost what leverage they had in this negotiation. Zarkon turned back to her and nodded. "You have until the turn of the season to answer," he told her, standing from his seat. There was a faint rustling of fabric behind Sicarius as one of her White Wolves began to reach for his weapon, but stopped himself. There was no real threat to worry about here.

Once Zarkon and Haggar had left, Bryndon turned to his sister. "Jaehaerys isn't his name," he said. "Why lie about that?"

"They know something I don't," Sicarius explained. "I need to know what it is. Lying about his name is the only way to throw them off his scent."

\-----

Terra was emotional as she said goodbye to her companions, tearful goodbye hugs all around. Keith wanted to comfort her, but what could he do? She was staying behind with the Leviathan for a short time, but she would eventually have to leave as well.

That wasn't a thought he wanted to dwell on. In such a short amount of time, she'd become his closest confidant and she was going to leave him, just like everyone else in his life.

"It's always so sad to watch friends say goodbye to each other," Yuna commented, walking up to Keith, surprising him. "And with a bond as strong as theirs, it's even harder."

"Rydia said she was a paladin of Voltron," Keith commented. "Is it true?"

"As far as I know," Yuna replied, taking a seat beside him on one of the crates. "I wasn't alive at that time, so I can only trust their word, but I know them well. They wouldn't lie about something like that. Terra isn't leaving for some time, you could ask her."

"I think I will." He wasn't sure if he'd really be able to bring the topic up with Terra, but Keith told himself he would, no matter what. Millard squirmed in his arms, whining softly before little sobs left his lips. "Aren't you cranky today?" Keith commented, placing him against his shoulder as he stood.

"Did he sleep alright?" Yuna asked, standing as well to follow him back to the village.

"I think so," Keith replied, leading the way. "It's around nap time, though."

Yuna smiled and played with Millard's hands as he attempted to slap them against Keith's back, singing a soft song to him. By the time they arrived in the village, Millard was cooing and giggling, Yuna clapping his hands together. When she stopped, the Galra baby looked at his little hands in confusion, like he couldn't understand why they'd stopped.

"He really likes you," Keith commented as he lowered Millard into his crib.

"He's becoming more social," Yuna retorted. "He seems to really like several people."

"I hope so." Keith smiled as he covered Millard up with a thin blanket. It wasn't like Millard needed it, Besaid was a warm island, tropical, but the baby couldn't sleep without one laying on top of him.

Yuna was standing in the door frame, looking ready to leave. "Are you ready to go to the temple?" she asked. Right, they still had to do that. Terra had agreed to watch Millard while he way there, but since she was still saying her goodbyes, Keith would have to make other arrangements. Luckily, Shiro happened to be walking by.

"Shiro!" Keith called, reaching out to grab his arm, and his attention. "Can you watch Millard for me while I go to the temple with Yuna?"

"I...sure," Shiro replied. "Do you have a minute to talk?"

Keith turned to Yuna, who nodded. "I will be outside," she said, leaving the room. Shiro waited until she was gone to speak again.

"Are you avoiding me?" he asked. Keith was caught by surprised by the question, but the look on Shiro's face told him it wasn't some kind of cruel joke, which made it all the more confusing.

"No," he replied. "Why would you ask that?" Had he done something that upset Shiro?

"It just seems like you're doing everything you can to not talk to me."

_Oh._

He'd been spending most of his time with Terra and Yuna, and Lance spent most nights with him to help take care of Millard. It must have been foreign to Shiro, who was the person Keith always went to first before. Not to mention that they hadn't really had any deep moments of conversation since the day they were reunited, at dinner almost a week ago.

"After Yuna and I get done at the temple, we'll talk, okay?" Keith promised. "Yuna told me it's important we go to the temple, though."

Shiro nodded and let him go, but guilt made its way into Keith's stomach, even if Shiro was smiling and waving goodbye. He was a terrible friend.

\-----

The escape was grueling. Worse was the destroyed ship that they had escaped on, smoking in front of Meia's eyes, crushing any hope she had of moving on further without using magic. Teleporting was tiring, and she had no destination in mind. If they made one wrong move, she and Wol could find themselves stranded on a planet _worse_  than Palamecia.

Wol was fast asleep already, having used all of his energy already holding off Blanks while Meia secured the ship. She could let him rest for a bit while she tried to do some repairs; she owed him that much.

As she inspected the ship, she noticed the radio was spared, by some miracle. She turned it on and sent out a message she hoped someone would pick up.

_If anyone hears this, please send help_

 


End file.
